In this sequel to his previous book The Millionaire Next Door, Stanley
explores the attitudes, convictions, and behaviours of the financial
elite sector by utilising information on America’s affluent. His
findings defy popular perception; for instance, he notes that wealthy
Americans generally avoid ostentatious consumption of expensive or
high-status goods and use little to no consumer credit. The
millionaire mind places more emphasis on those with a net worth of
at least $10 million than The Millionaire Next Door, which
concentrated on people with a net worth of at least $1 million. This post is about The Millionaire Mind.
Summary
The Millionaire Mind, the follow-up to the best-selling The
Millionaire Next Door, examines the shared lifestyle and
environmental elements that both preceded and contributed to the
wealth accumulation of this studied sector.
Stanley’s study of the typical American millionaire’s path to wealth is
based on in-depth questionnaires and conversations with over 1,300
millionaires. Memories from their school days, personal reflections
on being “the smart kid in the dumb row,” making tough financial
decisions, choosing a career, and spending patterns are just a few of
the personal aspects from this research that are presented in the
book.
Reception
A review for Investor gave the book mixed reviews, saying that
while it was better than The Millionaire Next Door because it focused
more on the reasons behind the beliefs and habits of the wealthy
and offered helpful advice for anyone looking to accumulate wealth,
it had certain shortcomings as well, such as Stanley’s excessive
editorializing and the lack of attention to entrepreneurs, who the
reviewer suspected were underrepresented in Stanley’s sample.
“There are a multitude of revealing facts and ideas aside, including
the five ‘foundation stones’ of financial success most often
mentioned by millionaires, enjoyable case histories, and anecdotes
of specific millionaires,” Tom Butler-Bowdon wrote in his review of
The Millionaire Mind, despite the book being somewhat repetitious
overall.
Blogger and telecom expert Jim Lippard offered the book a dismal
assessment, saying, “This is a deeply flawed book.” It claims to
provide an explanation of the traits and mindsets that make affluent
individuals affluent, however it is primarily based on their
judgements of themselves without reference to a control group.
This, in my opinion, grossly undervalues the contribution that luck
plays in success and assigns causality when merely correlation exists.
Furthermore, the author exhibits blatant bias on a number of topics,
which forces him to interpret his data ad hoc and occasionally to
argue for conclusions that run counter to the obvious implications of
the data—as seen in his defence of the significance of religion in the
lives of millionaires, for example.”
External links
Reviews for Barnes & Noble on Amazon.
Refrences
A timeline of the author’s accomplishments
The Investor Bainvestor
Tom Butler-Bowdon’s commentary on “Review: The Millionaire
Mind – The Simple Dollar” from the book 50 Success Classics. The
Simple Dollar, Inc. on September 23, 2013, the original was archived.
James Lippard (July 2, 2006). “Review of The Millionaire Mind” . The
Blog of Lippard Retrieved 2009-09-09.
Donald Mitchell (February 10, 2001).
Writer: Noreen.